Bidadi to Bengaluru: Kumaraswamy turns tables, questions Shivakumar on HMT land

A day after Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar challenged H.D. Kumaraswamy over the proposed Bidadi township and questioned his role in the project, the Union heavy industries minister hit back on Thursday by turning the spotlight on HMT land transactions, suggetsing that the chief minister had presided over the disposal of public sector land during his tenure as Urban development minister.

Choosing the sprawling HMT campus in north Bengaluru as the venue for his counteroffensive, Kumaraswamy spent nearly an hour touring the once-iconic watch factory before addressing the media. He alleged there was a the large-scale conversion of PSU land into private real estate.

“The place where watches were once made has now become a location for film shoots to earn money to pay salaries. There was a time when nearly 25,000 people worked here. No wedding was complete without gifting an HMT watch. Today, only about 150 employees remain in the watch factory,” he said.

His remarks came a day after Shivakumar claimed that the proposed Bidadi Knowledge City was Kumaraswamy’s ‘dream project’ and defended the state government’s decision to pursue it despite opposition from the BJP and JD(S).

Without directly dwelling on the Bidadi proposal, Kumaraswamy sought to turn the debate towards HMT land transfers.

“If the chief minister wants to talk about land, let him first explain what happened to HMT land. HMT’s 175 acres were disposed of from 1999 to 2004,  when he was the urban development minister during the S.M. Krishna government. I know what role you played in these transactions,” he alleged.

Seeking a high-level probe, Kumaraswamy claimed that some HMT officials had also colluded in the disposal of land. He said the former forest minister took the issue because he showed interest in reviving the ailing PSU firm.

“If this is really forest land, investigate it thoroughly and reclaim it. But don’t malign a public sector company that fed thousands of families,” he said.

Kumaraswamy accused the Congress government of obstructing his attempts to revive HMT after he became Union heavy industries minister.

“When I tried to revive HMT, the state government suddenly claimed the land belonged to the Forest Department instead of supporting the revival of the company,” he said.

During his visit, residents of apartment complexes built on former HMT land submitted petitions claiming they were yet to receive khatas for their properties.

“If this land belongs to the Forest Department, what happens to all these apartments? Who allowed these developments? Who are the developers?” he asked.

The Union minister said he had instructed HMT not to dispose of any more land and that the process had been put on hold. He also said a joint secretary from the Union heavy industries Ministry accompanied him to the campus tour to examine the issue and said the company still owed around ₹590 crore to its employees.

With both leaders now linking separate land controversies—the proposed Bidadi township and HMT land transfers—the political confrontation between the Congress government and Kumaraswamy has widened beyond Bidadi into a larger battle over land acquisition, public sector assets and accountability.